I F A - P R E V I E W: Headphone design competition in Web 2.0

August 20, 2013

I F A P R E V I E W

Headphone design competition in Web 2.0

beyerdynamic Starts a Crowdsourcing Campaign on my-headphone.com. Users Can Design Their Own Headphones and Vote.

Heilbronn/Germany, August 20, 2013: Now the customer can decide what will hit the shelves: In the world’s first crowdsourcing design competition for headphones, beyerdynamic is letting its customers get involved – and giving the community the vote. Anyone can design his or her own version of the CUSTOM ONE PRO and officially enter it in the competition at my-headphone.com. The most popular design will be selected as the winner and go into production. The designer of the winning headphones will receive 1000 euros and the first pair of headphones with his or her design.

my-headphone.com by beyerdynamic connects the audio specialist from Heilbronn, Germany, and their successful headphone business with a key element of Web 2.0: Involvement. The informed consumer of today is used to not only confidently choosing from a variety of products, but also actively influencing the available selection. Crowdsourcing is the name of this trend, and it can be observed everywhere: Viewers decide what happens on TV series, fast food restaurants serve hamburgers based on their customers’ recipes, breweries consult their fans, followers and other social media friends to develop new beers.

The my-headphone.com website makes this exchange simple: Users can choose from thousands of colours, features and materials to create their own look based on beyerdynamic’s CUSTOM ONE PRO. The world’s first interactive premium headphones are made for a custom music experience. Its revolutionary CUSTOM sound sliders change the sound properties in the blink of an eye, the exchangeable CUSTOM cable transforms the hi-fi headphones into devices such as a high-end headset with a microphone, and the unique CUSTOM style kits give this successful model a new look to suit the user’s taste.

But the design options on my-headphone.com go even further: a broad range of colours and finishes are available for the ear cups alone. There are also a variety of headbands and ear cushions. Contestants can let their creativity run wild as they design the interchangeable covers of the headphones. They can not only choose from a wide variety of materials – such as brushed metal or various artificial leathers – but also design the exterior of the headphones however they want using a broad selection of backgrounds, fonts and design elements.

If they want, they can also explain how they came up with the design – what inspired them – and add a name to go with it. Then the online community clicks “Like” to decide which CUSTOM ONE PRO will make its way from the virtual world to the ears of music fans.

The competition opens on 6 September 2013 with the kickoff of the IFA trade fair. At beyerdynamic’s booth (Hall 1.2, Booth 205), visitors can design and upload their own personalised headphones. But you don’t have to be in Berlin to visit my-headphone.com: anyone with an Internet connection can participate. For six weeks, users from all over the world can design their own headphones or choose their favourites from the designs already submitted. After the combined design and voting period, visitors to my-headphone.com have another 14 days to vote for their favourite design. At the end of the year, beyerdynamic will offer the CUSTOM ONE PRO with the winning design for sale as a special edition.

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